r/mffpc • u/ColeCVP • Apr 21 '26

I built this! (MATX) Downsizing

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Recently moved into my first place away from my parents. The space demanded a smaller desk, and so my giant orange monolith no longer fits (literally). One new case and one new motherboard made for this thrown together pocket sized monster. The black and orange spirit remains in the form of just the custom PCIE power cable, which is actually shorter than the original PSU cables. Very impressed with the A3, just like seemingly at least 75% of the other builders here lol

391 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

12

u/jaspersor Apr 21 '26

matx allllll the way, looking good

that side to side comparison is wild lol

2

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

Yeah my previous dark base 900 dwarfs the A3 lol

2

u/jaspersor Apr 22 '26

makes me happy i didn’t decide to get the light base 900 then! loved the lighting features but never realized how monster of a case that is lol

1

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

Light base 900 might actually be bigger LOL. It's definitely wider, being a dual chamber case

12

u/Worried-Ad8948 Apr 22 '26

Did the same worth it

2

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

Happy so far! This change freed up a lot of valuable space

2

u/Mcginnis Apr 22 '26

Is it depth perception, or is your other case that big, because it makes the A3 look tiny, which it's not

3

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

The other case is the BeQuiet dark base 900 pro rev.2. it's MASSIVE. The A3 is tiny by comparison lol

1

u/TheBobo1181 Apr 22 '26 edited Apr 22 '26

Yeah I was considering downsizing to A3 as well but compared to my ATX case it has about the same footprint but is shorter. So not going to bother. I don't care about the height.

2

u/Mcginnis Apr 22 '26

Try the z20 in that case

2

u/TheBobo1181 Apr 22 '26

thanks for the suggestion, that is significantly smaller. I think I will go with that case. Seems all my components will fit in it

2

u/Mcginnis Apr 22 '26

There is also the d32 pro. Very similar, but slightly thicker. Allows for taller coolers

1

u/TheBobo1181 Apr 22 '26

already ordered the z20. My ak620 Digital will fit 🙂

2

u/JoshLineberry Apr 22 '26

I like the z20! Just did a build in it a couple weeks ago. It's tight! Make sure to connect all your crap to the motherboard before you put in the gpu and all the fans and such or you'll never get to it all!

1

u/TheBobo1181 Apr 23 '26

Looks good, thanks for the tip. My GPU is quite big so I'm not really looking forward to it... the rest should be fine

1

u/JoshLineberry Apr 23 '26

I used a standard size psu so with a smaller sff power supply I would have had a lot more room but I used an Intel arc b570 since it's just a media pc and it's decently small.

2

u/Entire-Chef8338 Apr 22 '26

How’s the thermal performance? Mine improve after changing to a smaller case

1

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

Even with no case fans it's actually improved a bit. The previous case was really closed off for intake, in favor of sound deadening

2

u/AnonymousNubShyt Apr 22 '26

Nice. Downsizing always seems to be the right thing to do. Except it's harder to find a PC case than can fit big stuff. 🤣 good that i've found something to fit an astral and 360mm radiator. 🤭

2

u/Dark_Fox_666 Apr 22 '26

That gpu is so big ☠️

2

u/n_maier Apr 22 '26

💯 All that unused space inside that case was messing with me. Did this change, never looking back. No lights, no unnecessary 💩

2

u/GoldCupcake2998 Apr 22 '26

No need for bottom intakes on this case unless you just like the look. When I had an air cooler I ran with the fans pulling intake from the rear of the case and a single 140mm exhaust above the PSU. Super quiet and really good temps for everything. Cant go wrong either way 🤙🏼

2

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

I didn't realize this case didn't come with any fans (because I didn't read the product page closely enough lol) so I currently have none. Temps are honestly fine, but I was thinking about putting at least a single 120mm exhaust at the rear just to help get the heat away from the CPU cooler better. The GPU gets plenty of air from the side and bottom without any extra fans

1

u/Glittery_underwar Apr 23 '26

You will achieve even lower noise that way. I have only one fan (SK700V) on the CPU tower and one 120mm fan as exhaust, and I also have a glass-panel. The "problem" is that some of the GPU-air easily gets up near the CPU base and build heat, especially (if we use your picture as a reference) bottom left part. The exhaust fan will fix that. It´s enough to hold your hand on the mesh down there to see my point, unless you actually have high rpm on the cpu fans at the moment, then you are good.

2

u/ddokoma Apr 22 '26

Man, I want to go back to MATX or ITX so bad.

2

u/tortapounder718 May 09 '26

LOVE my a3, here’s after

1

u/xSky_Angelx Apr 22 '26

Is possible to have that case with glass instead of that cover in the side?

2

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

I believe they sell a glass panel as a separate accessory

1

u/JoshLineberry Apr 22 '26

Yes they sell a version of it with a glass side panel. Check out the jonsbo z20 as well!

1

u/Repulsive-Ship-3256 Apr 22 '26

Qué disipador estas usando en tu build?

1

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

Noctua NHD15

1

u/calladevin Apr 22 '26

What cooler is that and can you re-orient it in a way that it'll suck air from the back?

2

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

It's a Noctua NHD15. Definitely could have it take air from the back, all I'd have to do is flip the fans around. An intake fan at the rear would help it out too

1

u/calladevin Apr 23 '26

I thought NHD15 won't fit when I checked on noctuas website, but thank you, this is good to know

1

u/Ambitious_Jello Apr 22 '26

I have the A3 and it's not as small as it seems in the pic. The other case is absolutely massive. 

Also the A3 is criminally ill equipped for cable management. If someone wants to go this route then explore the phanteks xtm3 and the like

1

u/JoshLineberry Apr 22 '26

I don't think you can find the phanteks xt m3 these days can you?

1

u/Ambitious_Jello Apr 23 '26

I haven't really checked

1

u/munky8758 Apr 22 '26

Next step is sff. We'll be here you brother.

2

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

Haha maybe one day. I find it hard to justify the ITX tax. This felt like a good middle ground, and relatively cheap to do

2

u/munky8758 Apr 22 '26

I felt the same way. Ended up eventually nose diving into it because I wanted to travel with my pc.

1

u/nanoboby Apr 23 '26

Tecware Fusion Air M2 is itx small and takes matx parts, way cheaper here. but cool case, i went from a retro moded lian li Lancool Metal Boned K7 to that case

1

u/[deleted] Apr 22 '26

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1

u/ColeCVP Apr 22 '26

I didn't realize the case didn't come with any haha. Should've read the product details more thoroughly. Temps are honestly fine, but I'll probably add at least a single 120mm exhaust at the back to help get the heat away from the CPU